Resurrection Sunday

Matthew 28:1-20
(1) In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

(2) And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. (3) His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: (4) And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

(5) And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. (6) He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. (7) And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. (8) And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

(9) And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. (10) Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

(11) Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done. (12) And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, (13) Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept. (14) And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. (15) So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

(16) Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. (17) And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. (18) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. (19) Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The church now typically meets on Sunday, the first day of the week, in commemoration of Christ's resurrection. (John 20:19; Acts 20:7) Also note; the stone was rolled away for our sake; so that the women, and later Peter and John could see with their own eyes the Lord had risen! (John 20:3-9)

I find it interesting, in this account, you can see the effects of God's power on two different goups. The guards and the women. These big strong guardsmen, when confronted by an angel, collapsed, paralysed with fear! (This is obviously no effeminate creature with soft feathery wings or some fat baby flying around with a harp or a toy bow.) The women were also afraid, but God had sent the angel to them, so that they could share the Good News with the disciples. In doing what they were told, the women met the Lord on the way. The guards, however, once they recovered, reported to the chief priests. The chief priests and elders, men who were well educated in the scriptures and should have understood what was really going on, made a choice. They decided to pay the guards a bribe, cash money and their lives. For falling asleep on guard, the penalty was death. The guards made a choice, they took the money and the promise that the elders would save them from the govenor. But they missed the chance at eternal life, they didn't meet the Lord.

Even some among the disciples doubted, we have the account of Thomas in John 20:24-29. Thomas catches a bad rap, he is done a diservice in these days. Thomas only wanted the same proof the others had. Still he missed out on a blessing;

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
(John 20:29)

He was not asked to accept these things on blind faith, he had the witness of his ten closest and best friends. How many things do we accept based on the words of one person, and often a stranger at that? For example, when you go get your car serviced, you very likely take the word of the cashier, or attendant, who is repeating the words of the mechanic, or even more likely is reading a form written by a mechanic and hasn't even spoken to the mechanic himself! Based on the words of this person, you're going to trust your life and your families life by driving that car.

The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.
(Proverbs 14:15)

Even the Bible teaches blind faith is foolish. Look to the evidence. If these eleven men, followers of Jesus, stole his body and hid it, why would they have died proclaiming the Resurrection true, even under torture? Ten of the eleven did, the eleventh spent the last years of his life in prison. Men have and will die for the truth, but a group of men invariably fail to keep a lie quite over a mater of years, especially when they would be rewarded to confess the lie and suffer if they continue. Another thing, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:6 that there were over five hundred witnesses that saw the resurrected Lord, and many were still alive at that point. Think about it; if you were trying to keep a secret, would you tell people to go question the witnesses? Would you trust nearly five hundred people to "keep up the story" if it wasn't true? There is more evidence, though if those guards could see an angel, see it move the large boulder out of the door of the empty tomb and yet not believe... It still requires faith, and faith is from God.